Yuet Hing Vietnamese Restaurant

The Saigon-born proprietor of a Vietnamese noodle shop in the Prince Edward area of Kowloon once said that it was impossible to sell a bowl of authentic pho bo (beef noodle soup) in Hong Kong. For one thing, the cost of the ingredients, imported from Vietnam, would put too much pressure on a restaurant's budget. Further still, the rich and complex flavours of the soup would be indefinable to most Hong Kong palates. In his view, the lunchtime crowd was interested in just one thing: a cheap food fix.

As a result, most Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong disappoint on the pho front and the Yuet Hing in Sai Wan Ho is no exception.

The pho bo ($25) tasted of little more than boiled salt water. It came in a smallish bowl with a few slices of poor-quality beef and was devoid of all the requisite garnishes that make the dish so special - sliced onions, basil leaves, lime wedges and chopped chillies. I asked for some basil and lime, but they took some time to arrive.

A side order of deep-fried spring rolls ($24) was little better, arriving burnt and with a plate of iceberg lettuce to wrap it with, instead of the softer, more flavoursome Chinese lettuce.

Lunch for one came to $74, including a coconut soda ($18). So at least it adhered to the cheap-food fix principle.

Shop G, G/F, Lai Wan Building, 47 Shau Kei Wan Road, Sai Wan Ho. Open: 2567 3220. Open: 11am-11.30pm. $